


i don't believe in peter pan, frankenstein or superman

by swwf17



Series: We Should Come with a Warning [6]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Family Feels, Gen, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 23:28:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13937721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swwf17/pseuds/swwf17
Summary: As Alex and Kara help Eliza prepare for a garage sale, a shocking secret is revealed!





	i don't believe in peter pan, frankenstein or superman

Spring in Midvale is…a bit tempestuous, to say the least.

It brings just as much rain as it does sun; plants blossom in the warm weather one week, only to have the new buds washed away by a freak downpour the next.

Kara doesn’t mind the indecisiveness of the season all that much—she likes the sound of the raindrops on the leaves outside, and the sunlight is pleasantly mild, when it decides to make an appearance. So, she’s fine with a few stretches of grey clouds, here and there.

“Yeah, well. Not all of us are impervious to the cold,” Alex mutters miserably from inside her jacket and scarf.

Kara just shrugs, not even batting an eyelash at the windchill.

Now, allergies, daylight savings, standardized testing…some of  _those_ , Kara  _does_  mind, and she’ll wholeheartedly agree with Alex’s complaints.

_Especially_  when it comes to  _another_  annual spring occurrence.

“Girls, if I have to ask you one more time—”

“Alright, alright!”

Kara watches as Alex rolls her eyes and hastily tosses a few more books into the cardboard box situated in the center of the room. Kara moves a bit slower, adding a pair of old shoes that no longer fit, but hesitating with the pair of jeans in her hands. The knees are starting to go a bit thin and threadbare.

“Keep those,” Alex says. “Ripped jeans are cool.”

Kara frowns, not entirely convinced, but does as Alex says, setting aside the jeans and instead reaching for her freshman math book instead. “What about this?”

Alex huffs, clearly annoyed at being interrupted, but schools her features into something a bit more patient as she looks over her shoulder, and considers.

“…Yeah,” she finally decides, nodding towards the box. “I don’t think you’d get much if you took it to a used bookstore anyway.”

Kara tosses it in.

She’s been on Earth for…a little over two years, now? And thus, she’s familiar with the yearly ‘Danvers’ Household Spring Cleaning and Garage Sale,’ a ritual that does  _not_  actually involve the sale of garages…though Alex  _did_  try and convince her, that yes, that’s  _definitely_  what garage sales are about.

(And…okay. Kara…maybe believed her for like…five minutes. Four. Tops. And then Jeremiah kindly set the record straight.)

“ _Girls!”_  Eliza calls, and Alex huffs again.

“Coming!” Alex yells. “Are we good?”

Kara looks at the sizable collection of items in the box, and nods.

“I think so. I…don’t really have anything else to put in.”

“Yeah, figured,” Alex says. There isn’t much that Kara has that’s old enough to warrant tossing out—everything works perfectly fine, or fits perfectly well, will  _definitely_  last another year.  _Most_  of the stuff they’ve found belongs to Alex—old books and board games. Of course, Alex first offered them to Kara, but. Kara didn’t have much use for an old Chinese Checker set that was missing half the pieces. (And Kara  _certainly_  had no use for  _Clue_ …as she’d been permanently put off of murder mysteries ever since Kenny.)

But Kara does have more to contribute this time around, at least. Like those shoes, for instance. (And that pair of jeans she sneaked back in the box, when Alex wasn’t looking.)

Her sister stands, hefting the cardboard box as she does so. Kara grabs a smaller box, and Alex feigns annoyance.

“Hey,  _you’re_  the super strong alien…you should take this one.”

Kara smirks.

“Sorry, can’t. I’m not supposed to use my powers, remember?”

Alex nudges her in the side, adding a drawn out, “ _riiiiiight,”_ generously laced with sarcasm. They both laugh and head downstairs.

“Finally!” Eliza says, once they reach the bottom of the stairs. Kara wonders if they’re in for a lecture, but Eliza’s clearly too wrapped up in prepping for the garage sale to fit in any scolding. “Just put them over by the door, and then Alex…I need you to go through some of the things out in the shed…”

“What?!” Alex yelps as they add their boxes to the (ever growing, it seems) stack near the door. “You never said I had to clean out the shed…that’ll take  _forever.”_

“It’s just a few things,” Eliza insists, “some of the sports equipment, and the old camping gear. I think one of the tents is broken…”

“ _Uggggh,”_  Alex groans.  And Kara is ready to leave her behind, and retreat back to their room, because she’s been out in the shed a total of  _two times,_  and both were entirely unpleasant affairs.

Besides, Eliza only mentioned  _Alex._  So Kara’s pretty sure she in the clear.

But of course, Alex isn’t about to let  _that_  happen.

“Can Kara at least come and help me lift stuff?” Alex asks, and Kara—having  _zero_  desire to get roped into this, is quick to remind her:

“I’m not supposed to use my pow—”

“It’s just moving junk out of the way,” Alex says, turning to Eliza to plead her case. “It’ll go faster, and then we’ll be all set for Saturday.”

Kara can see Eliza turning the idea over in her head…clearly taken with the notion of being ahead of schedule.

“But—!” Kara tries once more, but Eliza is already moving towards the office, several empty milk crates in tow.

“Help your sister!” she calls over her shoulder. “But no flying or super speed—just strength!”

Alex chuckles wickedly under her breath as Kara slumps, and emits a disgruntled whine.

“You’re the  _worst,”_  Kara mutters. And Alex just shrugs it off.

“It’s a sibling thing, get used to it,” she says, and when Kara gives her an inquisitive look, she elaborates, “ _‘if I’m going down, I’m taking you with me.'”_

* * *

The shed is just as bad as Kara recalls.

Dark, damp, and void of any  _semblance_  of organization, it’s a dumping ground for outdoor gear, (both broken and functional), gardening equipment (that they never use) and patio furniture that, by Alex’s calculations, has not seen the light of day for at  _least_  six years.

“Okay, I know mom said just  _strength…”_  Alex starts, staring into the shadowy abyss, “but you think you could…?”

Kara sighs, and slips her glasses off, using her x-ray vision to quickly locate the items they’ve been sent to find.

“Camping gear’s all the way at the back,” Kara says, “What sport stuff did Eliza want you to look at?”

“I dunno,” Alex says, pushing a few foam boogie boards out of the way. She nods towards some lawn chairs, and Kara grunts, but ultimately obliges, easily hoisting them out of the way. “Let’s do the camping stuff first.”

“'Kay.”

Alex is  _right,_  of course; Kara’s super strength makes clearing a path a cinch, and, admittedly, it turns out to be an invaluable asset, given that the tents are buried beneath several layers of cobweb-covered junk.

Kara hauls everything out into the backyard, allowing Alex to yank the tents from the shelving units.

“Okay, let’s check and see…” Alex starts to say, dumping the pieces out onto the lawn.

A puff of red dust and the moldy remains of what was once a canvas tent come tumbling out.

“…Yeah, I think that’s…done.” Alex surmises.

Kara nods, recoiling slightly at the smell of water damage.

“Here, just—put that in the garbage, actually. No one’s gonna wanna buy  _that,”_  Alex tells her. “I’ll start putting this stuff back.”

Kara does as she’s told, gingerly taking the tent to the side yard, and shoving it into one of the trashcans.

“Yeeeuch,” she mumbles, shaking her head and trotting back to join her sister. Alex stands just outside the shed, brushing her hands on her jeans, and regarding two items propped up against the shed’s corrugated metal siding.

Kara recognizes them as bicycles—bikes.

“Do you need my help, moving them?” Kara asks, wondering why Alex has paused. The whole reason she was out here in the  _first place_  was because Alex wanted to rush through this.

“No,” Alex says slowly, “I think I’m actually gonna move these to the garage.”

“For the sale?”

Alex shakes her head. “No,” she says again. “Or. Maybe…” she scratches her head. “I never ride mine, anymore. But, I dunno…” she runs her hand over the seat, which Kara thinks might be black, underneath the thick layer of dust. “They’re kinda nice to just  _have,_ you know?”

Kara nods, even though she’s not really sure she understands.

“Uh…yeah,” she agrees, and her hesitation must be apparent, because Alex turns and gives her a funny look.

“Oh…come  _on,”_  she says suddenly, realizing. “You guys seriously didn’t have  _bikes_  on Krypton?”

Kara crosses her arms, feeling a twinge of defensiveness working its way into her response. “Why would we? They’re… _archaic_.”

Alex doesn’t take offense at the comment, instead grabbing one of the bikes and nudging the kickstand up out of the way.

“Well now we  _have_  to keep them,” she grins. “Here, take this, I’ll go see if I can find the helmets—”

“Uhhh…” Kara is forced to take hold of the nearest bike by the handle bars, because Alex is already dashing back into the shed. A few loud crashes follow, along with some grumbling and more than a few phrases that would have Eliza frowning in disapproval, but at last, Alex emerges, two bike helmets in hand.

“Here,” she says, giving one to Kara. It’s smaller than the other—bright blue, with the faded, gummy remains of stickers dotted along the front.

“But I don't—”

“I know you don’t  _need_  it,” Alex says, clipping her own helmet into place. It’s larger, and a plain dark grey.  “But, you know. It’s the  _law,_ and everything, and you have to blend—”

“No, I—” Kara steps away from the bike, handing the helmet back to Alex. “I don’t…want to. Ride, I mean.”

Alex blinks.

“Oh,” she says, taking the helmet from Kara. “Like…you don’t wanna go right  _now,_  or…?”

“Yeah,” Kara nods vigorously. “I…I forgot I have…some APUSH stuff to finish.”

Alex narrows her eyes. They’re in the same class.

“ _What_  APUSH stuff?”

“I meant Bio,” Kara says, already heading back towards the house. “We can go…some other time, maybe!”

Alex watches her go, eyes still narrowed,  _so_  not buying this.

“ _Riiiight.”_

* * *

_It’s not the same thing,_  Kara tells herself as she stares at the ceiling in their room, sprawled on her bed and  _not_  working on Bio  _or_ APUSH.

_It’s not the same thing at all._

And she’s not sure if that makes her feel better…or worse.

* * *

Kara doesn’t even entertain the notion that Alex will leave well enough alone—she knows, right from the get-go, that her sister is going to keep harping on this until…until  _something_  happens. Either until Kara snaps or caves or does something  _else_  that Alex can hyper-fixate on.

“I can teach you,” Alex offers, literally riding circles around Kara. She’s taken to riding her old bike to school…no doubt an attempt to wear down Kara’s resolve.

Kara just shrugs, and keeps walking.

“No thanks.”

Alex sighs angrily. “I just don’t  _get it,_ ” she says. “Why not?”

Kara shrugs again, “I dunno, I just don’t want to.”

“That’s not really a  _reason.”_

“I don’t  _need_  a reason,” Kara insists, gripping her backpack straps a bit tighter. Alex has stopped pedaling, allowing the bike to coast alongside the sidewalk. Kara can hear the spokes clicking loudly in her ears.

“I guess not,” Alex admits. “…But it would…kinda be nice to have one.” She thinks for a moment. “You can’t be  _scared—_ it’s impossible for you to get hurt.”

Kara scowls.

“I’m not  _scared_.”

“Yeah, I know. I just said you weren’t.”

“Good. 'Cause I’m not,” Kara reiterates firmly.

Alex squints at her. “Well, now I’m thinking that you kind of  _are_.”

“I’m not!” Kara says again, raising her voice. Alex frowns, taken aback.

“Whoa, calm down, I didn't—”

“I’m not scared of your…your dumb  _Earth bikes._  You know why we didn’t have them on Krypton? Because we had  _dragons._  These big—lizard—dragon things with  _wings_  that were  _ten times scarier_  than any of your antiquated…” Kara stammers a little, the Kryptonian and English getting jumbled in her head. “ _Stuff._  Your antiquated  _stuff.”_

And she knows she shouldn’t, but she uses a touch of super speed, because she’s done talking.

Alex watches her go, still a little…stunned, by Kara’s outburst.

“…Dragons?”

* * *

“ _Is it scary?”_

“ _Mmmm.” Uncle Jor hums thoughtfully as he chews. “A little. At first. What do you think, Zor?”_

_Her father nods in agreement._

“ _At first, yes.”_

“ _I had to push him, you know,” Uncle Jor tells her, leaning forward and pretending to whisper. Kara rolls her eyes—Uncle Jor is under the impression that she finds his antics hilarious._

_(Which, admittedly, she did. When she was **five**.)_

_But she **is**  interested in the story._

“ _Did you really?” she asks, looking from her uncle to her father, and back again. Uncle Jor laughs._

“ _I see you’ve not shared this particular story with Kara, then?”_

“ _He has not shared it with me, either,” her mother interjects, joining them at the table. She raises an eyebrow and smirks at Zor._

_Her father’s smile is sheepish._

“ _Well…it has never come up before…”_

“ _Zor was certain he would take to flying much faster than I,” Uncle Jor says, leaning back in his chair. “But when we got to the cliffs, he froze.”_

“ _I was merely taking my time,” her father says._

_Uncle Jor shakes his head. “He froze.”_

“ _So you pushed him?” Kara asks. Uncle Jor nods._

“ _H'Raka was going to leave without him!” he claps his brother on the shoulder. “So I gave him a good shove, right off the edge of the cliff.”_

_Her mother covers her mouth with her hand in an attempt to hide her smile._

“ _I am surprised the thantho flez allowed that,” she chuckles. Her father looks sheepish again._

“ _She…did not.”_

“ _She threw him right off.” Uncle Jor nods._

_Kara’s eyes widen, and her mother abruptly stops laughing._

“ _Did you get hurt?” Kara asks, trying to imagine the scene. Were the cliffs steep? How far did father fall? Was H'Raka alright?_

“ _I landed in a Hantha tree, thank Rao,” her father smiles. “I broke my arm, but if could have been… **much worse**.”_

“ _I pray you had the decency to feel badly,” her mother turns and scolds Uncle Jor, who is nodding, wearing a very serious frown._

“ _Oh, of course,” he says, just as he winks at Kara._

_Kara doesn’t laugh—in fact, she remains quiet throughout the rest of the dinner, still thinking about Father, and flying, and being frightened._

_Eventually, Uncle Jor leaves—he has to meet Aunt Lara at the High Council building. She doesn’t join her parents, in seeing him off._

“ _Alright, Little One,” her mother says, once Uncle Jor is gone. “Something is troubling you.”_

_Kara shakes her head, but her mother and father know better. Her father rubs her shoulder._

“ _It will not be scary,” he tells her, correctly guessing the source of her worry. “Flying. I promise, it will be **fine**.”_

“ _Do I…have to go?” Kara asks in a small voice. Her mother and father share a look—something passes between them, a silent conversation. Kara marvels at their ability to do that—seemingly speaking to one another, without actually **talking**._

“ _You must take the test…eventually…” her father says slowly, kneeling so that they are eye level. Again, he rubs her shoulders, soothingly. “You know this.”_

“ _Thara waited until fifth tier…” Kara argues._

_And she can see her mother, ready to protest, to tell her that she may **not wait** , she must take the test before her fourth tier lessons._

_But it’s her father who speaks, soft and reassuring._

“ _We will wait until you are ready,” he says, smiling. “And when that time comes, we will be right there beside you. To teach you. To help you.”_

_Kara feels the anxious knot in her stomach come undone._

“ _Promise?”_

“ _Promise.”_

* * *

That was one year before the planet started falling apart.

(Though…according to her dad and Uncle Jor, the planet had been falling apart for a  _long_  time, but. It didn’t become… _noticeable_  until…just before the end, really.)

She never took her flight test.

Her parents never taught her how to ride a thantho flez, or a hover skiff, or…or anything, really. She was too young for some of those things…too  _scared_  for the others.

And when at last she found some courage ( _I’m not afraid, father)…_

Well.

By then, it was too late.

* * *

Kara sighs, poking her head into the living room, finding Alex lying on one of the couches.

“Um. Hey….” she starts. Alex glances up from her phone.

“Hey.”

And Kara takes that as a good sign…Alex doesn’t sound like she’s mad at her. If anything, she sounds bored. And that’s fine. Kara can handle bored.

“I’m…sorry,” Kara says, shuffling into the room somewhat awkwardly. She takes a seat in the chair across from the couch. “About yelling at you. And calling bikes dumb.”

“And antiquated.”

“And antiquated,” Kara sighs again. “I didn’t mean it. I’m sure bikes are…are great.”

“Yeah, well,” Alex shrugs, gaze flicking back to her phone. “They’re not quite as exciting as  _dragons_ ,” she drawls, casting a pointed look in Kara’s direction. Kara winces. “But. They’re okay.”

“I was just upset,” Kara says, wringing her hands, feeling that she owes Alex some sort of explanation.

“Clearly,” Alex snorts. Kara lets the interruption slide, forging ahead.

“Everything you said…about being scared and…and learning to ride…” she shrugs. “It. Reminded me of my parents, I guess. Kind of. Of…something that…I never…” she adjusts her glasses, looking down at her feet. “Never got to, um. We never…got to do, together.”

She takes a deep breath; that’s as much detail as she can muster, right now, not wanting to remember too much, to linger too long on those raw emotions. She looks up to see Alex nodding, sitting up and setting her phone aside.

“Sorry. I didn’t, uh,” she scratches the back of her hand. “Know. About…that it was…bringing up some  _stuff.”_

Kara nods. “Yeah,” she says.

“Yeah.”

They sit in awkward silence for a moment as Kara struggles to think of something else to say. Fortunately, Alex puts an end to it, as she raises an eyebrow and asks:

“So…when you say  _dragons,_ do you mean _…?”_

Kara grins. “Like.  _Dragon_  dragons.”

“Seriously?”

“Well. Some of them look more like dragon _flies_ , but…”

“And you guys would ride them?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s…” Alex allows herself to sink back into the couch cushions. “Whoa.”

“ _Definitely_  whoa,” Kara agrees, remembering seeing Thara prepare for her test, practicing, her  _Winged One—_ her thantho flez—swooping and circling high overhead.

Alex returns to her phone, and Kara…Kara realizes with a start that, no, she never did learn to fly, back on Krypton.

But she did learn on Earth.

* * *

“You sure you want to do this?” Alex asks.

Kara buckles the strap on her borrowed helmet.

“Yes,” she says firmly.

“Because you don’t have to,” Alex tells her. “I don’t want to like…traumatize you, or something, and then you rat me out to mom.”

“I would  _never,”_ Kara says, entirely unconvincing.

“Mmmm hmmm,” Alex smirks. “’Course you wouldn’t.”

She slings her leg over the bike—free of cobwebs and dust, and sporting a new set of pegs on the back.

“So, do I just…?” Kara asks, stepping forward somewhat tentatively. Alex nods.

“Yeah, but…wait a sec, lemme make sure…okay, go for it.”

Kara steps up onto the pegs, placing her hands on Alex’s shoulders. Alex flinches.

“Too tight,” she hisses. Kara eases her grip.

“Oh, sorry. Better?”

Alex nods. “Okay, so now, you just…hang on, I guess.”

“Okay,” Kara says.

And then, they’re off.

Slowly, and somewhat wobbly.

“Oh, this is  _great,”_  Kara lays on the sarcasm thick. Alex grunts.

“Would you just—I’ve never had a  _passenger_  before, alright? You’re throwing off the whole…” Alex manages to straighten out, and pick up some speed. “Ha! Okay, there.”

And  _now_  they’re  _really_  off—Alex picked a particularly hilly neighborhood for the ride, and soon enough, they’re coasting down streets, wind in their hair, pale afternoon sun pleasantly warm on their backs.

They don’t ride very fast, or very far—it’s over all too soon, in Kara’s opinion, but Alex is still paranoid that she’ll emotionally scar her, or something.

They come to a stop at the bottom of the hill, tires skidding slightly on the asphalt.

“So?” Alex asks, turning. “How as that?”

Kara beams.

“Good,” she replies. “ _Really_  good. Almost like flying.”

Alex nods, humming slightly.

“Well,” she says, “as someone who’s flown with you once,” she moves her feet back to the pedals, ready to head for home. “Agree to disagree.”

* * *

Kara doesn’t fully explain to Alex, just what was bothering her. Kara doesn’t know if she  _herself_  really understands the scope of it. (That will come later—when she has words for things like  _survivor’s guilt.)_

But Alex…Alex must understand  _some_  of it, because after the ride, on the way home, she tells Kara—somewhat haltingly, and unsure—about how her parents taught her to ride a bike—that, during the summer, they’d go for long rides on the nearby trails together. She tells Kara that there are still some things, she can’t even  _think_  of doing, because Jeremiah isn’t here to do it with them.

“So if I…you know,” Alex’s shrug is hindered, somewhat, but Kara’s grip, but Kara can feel them tense a little. “ _Pressured_  you, or something, I’m sorry.”

Kara shakes her head, only to realize Alex can’t see her, focused as she is on the road. So she squeezes her shoulder, and assures her. “It’s okay.”

* * *

“Quit doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“That—that  _thing_  that you’re doing—normal humans can’t  _balance_ like that unless  _both feet_  are on the ground.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.”

“You have to  _pedal._  We can’t have an E.T. moment, okay?”

Kara has to think for a moment—which one was E.T.? But then she remembers…and grins.

“You sure?”

“…Honestly, no. It’s very tempting. But—secret identity.”

“Right, right. Secret identity.”

“Okay, so. Pedal, and, uh. That’s the front brakes—don’t use those first, unless you want to flip the bike. Use the back ones—yeah, those. And….there’s the gears,” Alex continues to point out  the various parts of the bike. “Don’t bother with those for now…you should be fine in two.”

“…Okay.”

“Alright, I think…I think that’s it…” Alex says. “Ready to give it a shot?”

Kara nods, her new helmet not quite as snug as the one she’d borrowed from Alex. It tips forward into her line of sight, and she has to push it out of the way.

“ _Yes.”_

* * *

It doesn’t take long to get the hang of it. Soon enough, Kara’s riding like a pro. She skids to a stop in front of Alex, breathless, not from exertion, but from excitement.

“This is fun!” she declares. Alex just laughs. “Here, you wanna…?” she gestures to the pegs.

Alex looks skeptical—Kara is still technically a  _rookie_  after all—but she does have superpowers on her side.

So she hops up onto the back of the bike.

And is immediately suspicious of Kara’s sly grin.

“What are you—”

“You said no E.T. Stuff, right?”

“Right…?”

“So no  _flying.”_

“What are you—”

Alex doesn’t finish, words snatched away as Kara starts pedaling.

Alex never said anything about  _super speed._

* * *

_**Several Years Later** _

Alex comes home for Spring Break—it’s a surprise; she’d told them she had too much work to catch up on, that she wouldn’t be able to visit.

But she arrives, single duffel bag in hand, tight grin on her face.

(Kara’s noticed that about Alex lately…her smiles are a little…tense.)

“I didn’t even hear you pull up!” Eliza exclaims, wrapping her in a hug.

Kara didn’t  _either_ …which is  _very strange._

“Friend dropped me off,” Alex says. “She has family up the coast…we carpooled.”

Eliza is satisfied with this answer, but Kara is not.

Still, she knows better than to interrogate her in front of Eliza.

Her answer comes later…much later. Like,  _middle-of-the-night_  later, when Alex nudges her awake, and throws something round and heavy onto her stomach.

Kara groggily regards the item with confusion, running her hands over it, not sure what she’s dealing–

She sits bolt upright.

“You didn’t,” she says, already grinning.

Alex’s smile is no longer tense, or tight—it’s small and quirked to one side and so patently  _Alex._

“I did,” she says, shrugging on her new motorcycle jacket. “Come on.”

And Kara doesn’t have to be asked twice.

**Author's Note:**

> \- Kryptonian culture varies, depending on which comic you read; the bit about learning to fly/Jor and Zor is taken from the Injustice 2 title.  
> \- Formal speech/minimal contractions on Krypton is a Supergirl: Rebirth thing  
> \- Season 1 Midvale is very clearly SoCal, & Season 3 Midvale is very clearly Canada, so I've compromised w/ 'undisclosed location along the Northern Californian coast'


End file.
